


Naegi's Pet Project

by Hey_Peter



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Angst, Brainwashing, Depression, Despair, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Hope, Hurt/Comfort, Murder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Starvation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:41:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24023029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hey_Peter/pseuds/Hey_Peter
Summary: The survivors of Danganronpa 2 are starting to wake up from the virtual world, noting how different their minds and bodies are from the effect of Izuru's Junko virus. Kazuichi Souda has woken up and noticed that Hajime looks far different from how he remembers him. Will the five of them be able to find peace, or will they ultimately succumb to despair even after the killing game?
Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Naegi Makoto, Hinata Hajime & Owari Akane, Kirigiri Kyoko & Naegi Makoto, Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko/Pekoyama Peko, Soda Kazuichi & Everyone
Comments: 3
Kudos: 74





	Naegi's Pet Project

The abrasive hissing sound of operating machinery told Kazuichi's panicking mind that he wasn't dreaming - that he was awake and entirely aware. Memories flashed in and out of his mind like a film reel; a dreadful, haunting, film reel.

He remembered going on a school trip to a wondrous tropical island, he vaguely recalled a corpse on the ground, hidden underneath a table with stab wounds in its abundant gut. Various names of places and people he couldn't picture swirled in his mind: Hope's Peak, Nagito, Monokuma, Jabberwock island, Hajime, Sonia, he couldn't explain any of them. Among all the ambiguous scenes taking place in his head, one rose above them all in squandering magnificence; a final, nightmarish battle.

Inside of a colossal room that looked remarkably familiar to a sci-fi movie he couldn't recall, a giantess who dubbed herself 'The Ultimate Despair' opposed herself to four people, with Kazuichi among them. Facing across from him was a thin, pointy-haired boy with flickering eyes of lime green and red, shouting inaudible words with a feverish gusto that shook Kazuichi to the bone. A very boyish, well-dressed youth with a single eye covered with a branded eyepatch raised a clenched fist but hung his head in shame. A tanned, voluptuous girl dressed in a lascivious parody of a typical woman's high school outfit glared intensely at the giantess, her dark eyes drawing a sweat in her.

Finally, the last student stood beside Kazuichi, clasping her dainty hands together in support of the pointy-haired boy's shouts of rage. Just standing there, she took all of Kazuichi's breath away mercilessly. She was the kind of beautiful that served as an apex of human beauty but also presented a cruel mirror, a callous reminder that anyone who gazes upon them will never be able to see themselves in the same light. Kazuichi became aware of his body, a growing nail drove itself into his heart as he loathed what he saw. Compared to the blonde goddess beside him, he was not even a speck of dust to her. The bright yellow jumpsuit he wore, the pink hair he failed to layer, his filed teeth, all of it was moot; a shameless, pathetic effort to find a semblance of self-expression and joy that the woman beside him exuded effortlessly. He felt his body underneath his suit, the very blood in his veins turning to wavering ice. His skin twitched and trembled, disgusted to even be a part of his body.

Thoughts of shark-like teeth sinking into his forearm were ripped from his mind when he found himself standing next to the other students, all looking below them confidently. Below him was a red button, eager to be pressed. The pointy-haired boy hit the button with his fist confidently, followed shortly by the boy wearing the eyepatch. The voluptuous girl punched the button vigorously, and the beautiful blonde girl hit the button, her icy-blue eyes radiating hope like a spotlight in a church.

Kazuichi refused to hit the button.

I'm not good enough. I don't deserve it.

At a moment's notice, Kazuichi's eyes flashed with dark, gruesome scenes of murder, bloodshed, and machinery. He was recklessly bolting metal parts together armed with a blowtorch and monkey wrench. His arms and hands were decorated in blackening scars and wiry stitches, stretching and pulling the skin tight against the bones of his fingers. He had no idea what he was constructing, but all he could see were countless metal spikes sticking out of a body seemingly constructed out of metal girders and wires, all soaked with blood, both fresh and dry. He remembered smiling so widely that his filed teeth poked into his lips and gums, lapping the ensuing blood with his wounded tongue.

He felt himself exhale a hasty breath as the memories ceased, the glass door to the strange metallic bed he was stuck in flung open. His shoulders pressed tightly against the corners of the bed, wedging him tightly inside. Snaking in and around his wavy hair were suction cups attached to his forehead, which were wired to the bed itself. The suction cups flopped off his body with minimal effort as he tried and struggled to get up. His body felt intensely sore, like he had run a 50-mile marathon just before he went to sleep.

With enough effort, he managed to un-wedge himself from the bed and weakly sit up straight, the air in his lungs feeling remarkably fresh. He went to rub his eyes with his hands until he noticed the cut-up, sorry states of his digits.

Nearly every finger and a thin wrapping of stitches around them, connecting the skin together so tightly that it nearly overlapped with itself.

Hardly a spot on his skin was untouched with dark red amorphous scars that looked freshly torn to the point where he refused to touch them incense they erupted in blood. He wasn't able to tell which scars were from his time constructing machines for Junko or which ones were his father inflicted years ago. The navy blue jumpsuit he wore strained tightly to his body, pressing against his chest hard enough to make breathing a conscious effort. He unzipped the suit slightly to allow himself to try and breathe easier and collect himself. He let out a violent, whooping cough that shook his ribs with powerful thumps. Looking around, Kazuichi couldn't recognize where he was. Surrounded by massive computer screens and identical beds like his own, it looked like no bedroom he could ever recall.

Carefully lifting his left leg out to touch the metal floor, he let his muscles spasm as they adjusted to waking up after being asleep for god knows how long. His right leg followed and he was able to stand, albeit holding onto the pod-like chamber for balance. Before he could question his situation any further, he heard the sound of flesh tapping against metal, following in a rhythmic pattern. The pod beds formed a circle around each other, and out from the circle came the figure of a man, crawling on his hands and knees. The man had pitch-black hair so devilishly long that it swept the floor, picking up bundles of dust with it. He wore a dark suit that complimented his hair nicely but chaffed around his arms. The man tapped against a pod bed and tried to use it as leverage to stand up, but ultimately failing.

"Chiaki.." The figure croaked as it slumped to the ground, his voice sounding remarkably hoarse and rough like he had been screaming just moments prior.

Chiaki. The name rang a bell for Kazuichi, but he couldn't attach a face to the name. The crumpled man tried standing up again enough for Kazuichi to be able to see his eyes the same colour as his scars. Kazuichi wasn't sure if he wanted to ask the man if he were okay or if he wanted to run, but the man's bloody-red eyes lit up like a firework when they matched gazes.

He quickly returned to his feet and shambled towards Kazuichi, arms outstretched like he was a zombie prepared to bite a bunch of Kazuichi's flesh.

He wanted to run away, but his body was just too weak to muster the strength to run. He turned his body to face away, but the suited man caught him in a constricting embrace.

"Kazuichi.." He whimpered. "You're awake. Thank God you're awake." The despair in the suited man's voice called out to Kazuichi with a ruthless vice grip that couldn't be ignored like he was a beaten animal begging for affection.

Once the suited man had embraced him for a couple of seconds, memories came flooding into Kazuichi's skull like a tidal wave. He remembered it all in an instant; he remembered Hope's Peak, the Ultimate Despairs, the simulation. All the memories of his friends and the comradery they shared clashed against the memories of violence, death, and destruction at his own hands, creating a macabre balance of youthful hope and twisted, brutish despair.

Without hesitation, Kazuichi returned the hug.

"Didn't think I'd see you again, Hajime." Hajime's entire body shook when he uttered his name, like just being called Hajime was the highest of compliments. The two rocked each other's bodies for minutes on end, drinking in the relief of seeing each other once more. He hadn't realized how touch-starved he was until then.

"What..what happened?" Kazuichi asked. "Is everyone okay!?" Hajime pushed away from him and broke eye contact.

"I.. I don't know," he said meekly. "I only woke up an hour ago."

"An hour?" Kazuichi replied. "What were you doing for that whole time."

Hajime made a miserable expression. One that communicated an otherworldly sense of grief and pain, but above all else, looked guilty like he had done something terribly wrong.

Kazuichi remembered the Ultimate Despair Junko Enoshima saying something about Hajime being someone called 'Izuru Kamakura', but at that point, he took everything she said with a grain of salt. Izuru was allegedly responsible for countless deaths, but Kazuichi wasn't entirely convinced. He knew Hajime as a confident, strong leader, not a mass-murdering genocidal dog to Junko.

"I was looking for Chiaki," Hajime uttered, his voice thick with remorse.

Kazuichi's heart felt like it had been dipped in ice. He remembered all the feelings he felt during the fifth trial he and the remaining students had gone through; he felt betrayed at the revelation of Chaiki being a Future Foundation-placed AI, he felt upset that she was the traitor, but he was never able to not feel immense pity for her. Chiaki had been nothing but helpful, resilient, and kind to the entire class, Hajime especially. Knowing she wasn't a real human being stung to think about, but his heart truly went out to Hajime. He never spoke to him about it, but he had a gut feeling that Hajime and Chiaki's friendship had more to it than meets the eye. An all-too-familiar pit opened up in his stomach, the terrible feeling of unrequited feelings gnawing at him once more.

"Oh." Was all he could muster to say. He hated thinking about how demonstrably one-sided his one feelings for Sonia were, but he had the benefit of her living through to see the next day. Chiaki was doomed to stay inside of the virtual world the rest of the class was trapped in, leaving Hajime forever torn.

Kazuichi panicked when he thought about the other survivors.

"Wait, where is everyone else?" He demanded, panicking. "Where's Miss Sonia? Where's Ak-"

"Still sleeping," Hajime responded bluntly. "They need to wake up on their own."

Kazuichi let out an understanding sigh and felt the strength regaining in his body, now able to walk around the room without using the pods for support.

He eyed Hajime up-and-down, noting the differences between the two since they had last met in the virtual world. Obviously, Hajime's appearance had changed drastically with his unruly long black hair and dark red eyes, but Kazuichi distinctly remembered being irritated at being two inches shorter than Hajime, but now it was clear he held the height advantage, even with the small platform Hajime's spiffy boots had.

Is that what Izuru looked like? Kazuichi thought to himself. Seeing the floor-scraping black hair and dark red eyes wasn't a comforting sight, but he didn't need looks to tell that it was still Hajime.

Souda cleared his scratchy throat, catching Hajime's attention.

"So, you holding up alright?" He asked earnestly. Hajime looked a bit lost for words, but he stiffened his lip and nodded.

"I'm..I'm doing alright," he choked. "It's everyone else I'm worried about." Souda frowned at his disregard for his own person.

"Sure, everyone else is important, but you're one us, too," he told Hajime. "Don't try acting all too good for a check-up, y'hear?" Hajime let out a faint chuckle under his breath.

"Really, I'm fine," he assured. "Thank you, Kazuichi." Souda wasn't entirely convinced with his answer, but the sound of another pod hissing open broke his train of thought.

Both Souda and Hajime rushed to see who was awake next and came face-to-face with an exhausted Fuyuhiko. He still looked as young as ever in his pod, with a fancy eyepatch covering his bad eye like it had in the virtual world. His yakuza-tailored suit looked to fit him more snugly than Souda remembered, suggesting Fuyuhiko finally hit that missing puberty note he had been mocked over.

He fluttered his bloodshot eye open, only to recoil at the sight of Hajime and Souda peering over him.

"The fuck?" He moaned. "Did we win? Where-" He didn't get the chance to continue as both of his classmates plucked his small body out of the pod and held him closely.

Hajime sounded overjoyed to be reunited, whilst Fuyuhiko wheezed and grumbled various curses under his breath. Hajime let him go and allowed his body to regain its strength on its own.

"So, if we're awake.." He said. "Does this mean we won?" "Yeah," Souda replied. "You can say that." Fuyuhiko tried to make a cocky smirk but found himself unable.

"I can't help but feel it's hollow," he admitted. "Just look at us." Hajime and Kazuichi exchanged reserved glances.

"We're all stuck in memory-wiping pods that made us live in virtual-fucking-reality for who knows how long, I'm still missing an eye, and Hajime has more hair than Sonia!" He ranted.

Hajime pursed his lips and let his eyes fall to the floor, rubbing his arm like he was a child being scolded.

"Fuck, is anyone else gonna wake up past the five of us?" Fuyuhiko asked. "If there's even a chance that Peko and the rest are alive-" He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed the sullen look on Hajime's face. Souda placed his comparably massive hand on Fuyuhiko's slim shoulder and stared daggers at him. Fuyuhiko took the hint and adjusted his tie.

"I, I'm sorry, Hajime." He said resoundingly. Hajime did his best to smile with an awkward, forced grin.

"Don't be. I'm the one who caused all of this, anyways."

Fuyuhiko perked an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mean you caused it? That bitch Junko was the one who plunged us into despair, not you." He said firmly. Hajime refused to look him in the eyes as he spoke.

"No, I became Izuru," he confessed. "I choose to be taken advantage of by Hope's Peak, I chose to give in to Junko's despair, and I chose to take so many innocent lives!" Hajime's voice broke with an intense energy Souda hadn't heard since the debate with Junko back in the virtual world.

"I'm just as responsible as she was!" He cried. "I've caused just as much harm, if not more." His breaths came out as fettered, choked sobs. "You should've left me in there to die."

Souda was taken aback, shocked at what Hajime was saying. His image of Hajime as a confident, powerful leader that could face anything was crumbling right in front of him, leaving only the broken mind of a tormented man who succumbed to despair and left destruction in his wake.

"I don't...I don't deserve this," he spoke. "The air in my lungs, the blood in my veins, all of it is above me." Fuyuhiko scowled and tried to interrupt, but Hajime's voice overpowered his.

"I can hear their voices. Every single person I've killed or let die is crying out to me," he clutched his head tightly like he had a migraine.

"They're screaming at me, they all know I did it. Their blood is on my hands, chanting for my death, death at the hands of the world I helped to destroy." Fuyuhiko had an expression of pity that was just as profound as the one he had during Peko's execution, his long lashes shielding his dark eyes. He couldn't find the words to combat Hajime's miserable rant, retreating his hands into his dress pants and staring at the floor.

Kazuichi clenched his fists angrily and grit his teeth. He didn't fully understand the process of how Hajime had turned into Izuru, but it didn't matter to him. Everyone in the 77th class of Hope's Peak played a hand in the apocalypse that tore the world asunder in showers of blood and mountains of corpses. Souda felt the binding weight of his actions in his chest, and he was certain that Fuyuhiko felt just as guilty, but he wouldn't let Hajime succumb to his guilt.

"No," Souda said firmly. Fuyuhiko poked his head up in surprise, but Hajime still stared at the ground.

"That wasn't you," he reassured. "Izuru Kamakura was the one who did all that, not you." Hajime opened his mouth to object, but Kazuichi continued. "You said so yourself, didn't you? We have the chance to make up for what we did, and now you have to follow up on that."

Hajime's wavering eyes finally met Kazuichi's, touched by his words.

"Souda, I don't know what to say." He muttered in between quick gasps for breath. Souda let out a thunderous cough and wiped his sleeve on his chest.

"Then don't say anything. Let your actions do all the talking."

Another pod door suddenly hissed open, catching the attention of all three men. They ran around the circle to meet who had woken up next, only to stop dead in their tracks when they saw who it was.

The bone-thin, trembling body of Akane Owari shook and heaved in her pod, every breath she made contracted her iron lung-like chest. The Akane's once-toned body had withered away until she was but bones with the bare minimum of skin hanging off in dry, patchy heaps. Her cheekbones were gaunt enough to fit someone's entire fist in the loose skin without even touching her jawbone. Her once revealing clothing looked chaste by comparison with how much weight she had lost, her legs were half the size they once were, her arms even less so. Had her shirt not been so baggy, Souda would've been able to see the outliner of her ribs and potentially a few organs from the thin layer of skin that covered them. Her hair looked as dry and pointy as straw, cascading down to her knees. Akane's eyes were in motion, but the rest of her remained motionless. An agonizingly slow grin etched itself on her dry lips, revealing decaying teeth.

Akane couldn't find the strength to speak, only smile.

Fuyuhiko, Hajime, and Kazuichi all starred in paramount dread. Fuyuhiko's single working eye was wide with shock, unable to even curse in grief. Kazuichi's stomach churned as he gazed at Akane's starved, frail form. Someone who had earned the title of Ultimate Gymnast with the most voracious appetite in all of Japan had been reduced to a mangy, 80-pound sack of bones.

Hajime slowly backed away from the pod, lips forming a sad smile. He tried desperately to force a chuckle to try and ignore the horrors of what lay before him, but all that came out was a hot stream of tears from both eyes. His laughs were hoarse and failed to hide the heaving breaths accompanying his tears.

"You see!?" He suddenly shouted. "This is what I did! I've ruined people!" Hajime's last shouts were punctuated with mournful wails. "And now...I pay the price." He lost all will to stand and collapsed onto his knees, burying his face with fistfuls of his hair.

Kazuichi so desperately wanted to say something to raise his spirits, but he was at a loss for words. He found nothing calming, nothing reassuring, no silver lining. He hated to give credence to Hajime's self-loathing, but in a way, he was correct. Their actions as Ultimate Despairs drove them to such extremes, far enough to mutilate themselves until they were hardly recognizable.

Fuyuhiko traced his eyepatch with his hand and turned to walk towards a pod - Peko's pod.

He placed a hand and stared down at her motionless body, watching the small breaths she took as her mind was still connected to the virtual world. She had a few scars around her hands and arms but otherwise looked fairly in-tact. No one in the room could guess if any of the dead students would wake up in the real world alongside them, but the odds weren't in their favor. He stroked the glass dome-like he would stroke one of her hairs, gently tracing it with his thumb. Souda wanted to approach him, but he quickly turned and gave him an expression that communicated more than any words could.

Leave me alone.

Hajime's soft cries subsided and he stood up, his eyes were bloodshot and his voice was hardly above a whisper.

"I'll deal with Akane," he mumbled. "Please just check on Sonia." The tension was so thick that Kazuichi had nearly forgotten about her entirely. The apple of his eye, Sonia Nevermind, had yet to be released. Making his way to her pod, Kazuichi saw the somber, slumbering body of Sonia, and marveled at her unharmed state.

Fuyuhiko was still missing an eye, Hajime looked drastically different, and Souda himself was bigger and carried far more scars than before, but Sonia looked exactly the same as she had in the virtual world. She retained her stunning looks, her gorgeous hair, everything. It was all 1:1 with his memory. She was wearing a far more threatening and lavish black and red dress as opposed to her charming blue and green one, but she still looked as exceptional as ever to Souda. Trying to picture her as a Remnant of Despair went against everything he knew her to be, but he knew that's exactly what Junko would want.

She gets off on brainwashing people Souda told himself. She wanted us to question ourselves. He knew what he did in the past could never fully heal, but his life as it was now could make up for what he did. If it takes my life to fix everything, then that's what I'll do. I'm the Ultimate Mechanic, aren't I?

At that moment, Souda considered himself lucky. Hajime and Fuyuhiko had no chance to have their affections returned, but the woman of his dreams was still alive, just sleeping.

A real sleeping beauty, eh? He thought to himself, staring pensively at Hajime, who had tenderly picked up Akane's pencil-thin hand, clasping it between his own.

A part of him felt hopeful that Sonia was still alive, but another scolded him for continuing to have feelings for her. He knew more than anyone that she obviously didn't feel the same for him, and thought himself a creep for refusing to let go.

Souda's thoughts were cut off as the door to her pod suddenly hissed opened, along with Sonia slowly fluttering her eyes open. Souda's heart twitched as she woke up, gently removing the suction cups from her head. He held his breath as she regained her conscientiousness and slowly sat up from the pod. She stared at him questioningly, squinting her eyes, and furrowing her brow like she couldn't recognize who was in front of her.

"Do...Do I know you?"

Kazuichi smiled as best as he could, but couldn't hide his trembling upper lip.

"No, not at all." He replied. He saw clear as day an opportunity to reinvent himself with a brand-new, suave image to clear any bad blood the two might've had, but the notion seemed far too selfish and slimy to carry out. He deemed it best to leave his feelings astray and hopefully not trigger any memories of Kazuichi Souda, the feverish, loud, irritating stalker in love with someone way out of his league.

Sonia looked around the bunker, trying to piece together where she was and why she had fallen asleep.

"Who are you?" She asked. "Where am I?" Souda tried to come up with an answer, but his mouth produced no words. "We're still in Novoselic, correct?" Souda began to sweat.

Sonia, noticing his concern, started to become anxious. "Please answer me!" She demanded. "Am I still in my kingdom?"

"No," Souda gulped. "I'm sorry, Miss Sonia." The title slipped out of his mouth as casual as ever. Before he could cover his tracks and riddle some excuse, Sonia put her hand to her chin and started thinking pensively.

"That name sounds so familiar," she distinguished. "But I do not understand why." Kazuichi's pink eyes darted to Fuyuhiko for aid, but he seemed to be preoccupied with looking for a latch on the pod Peko was contained in, his thin arms straining in his suit in an attempt to pry it open.

Sonia's blue eyes widened and her pupils dilated. "I am beginning to remember," she spoke. This is it. Kazuichi thought. This is where she remembers and runs out again.

"Kazuichi!" She cried as she lunged out of her pod and directly onto him, tackling him with a sudden affectionate hug.

"I remember! We escaped from Junko!" She spoke ecstatically. "Motherfuck yes!" Souda took the time to return the favour and gently wrapped his arms around her back. Fuyuhiko stopped grappling at Peko's chamber and walked up to the both of them, looking content.

"Glad to see you're up, Nevermind," he said with a grin. Sonia dismounted Souda and tackled him instead, knocking him to the ground.

Souda recomposed himself and stood up, waiting for Fuyuhiko to do the same. Sonia went to charge after Hajime, but her legs faltered and she slumped against Nekomaru's pod.

"I am so glad to see everyone is alright!" She cheered. "Are we truly back in the real world?"

"Sure thing," Fuyuhiko added. "The five of us are, at least." Sonia grimaced and rubbed her arm. "So, the rest are still trapped inside, right?" She asked. Fuyuhiko folded his arms and hung his head low. She stood up once more and walked around the circle of pods and reached Gundham's pod, staring at it sullenly.

Before, Souda would've felt envy over Sonia's lingering feelings for the Ultimate Breeder, but he understood her feelings enough to keep his mouth shut.

I guess I'd be in the same position as her if she didn't make it he thought.

She left Gundham's pod and walked towards Hajime, wincing at his gloomy face.

"Hajime? Is that truly you?" She asked.

"Yeah," he spoke flatly. "This is me now." Sonia was noticeably uncomfortable with his ominous appearance, but persisted.

"Well, I think this look suits you well!" She said. "You look like a wizard from a Novoselic nursery rhyme!" Hajime smiled softly and chuckled.

"You don't have to lie to me," he responded. "But, thanks. I appreciate it." She smiled brightly in return. Souda delighted seeing her happy, but knew it was only for a moment, as all the colour from her face drained when she saw the ghastly body of Akane. Souda tuned the two of them out as he and Fuyuhiko walked a fair distance away from the pod circle.

"Kazuichi," Fuyuhiko cautioned. "Let me ask you something." Souda he was making that awful, piercing look he sported when they first met each other in the virtual world - one that could only mean he wanted something and was willing to get it at any price.

"What's up?" He replied, doing his best to sound confident. Fuyuhiko's eye darted to Hajime and Sonia talking, then back to Souda.

"How much do you remember about, well, everything?" He asked hushly.

"...Could you be a bit more specific?" Souda requested.

"Your memories, Souda. How much can you remember?" He demanded.

Gathering his thoughts, Souda was able to remember what he thought was nearly everything; his childhood and bits of his school life prior to Hope's Peak, his entrance to Hope's Peak, he remembered the virtual world, Monokuma and the killing game, he remembered everyone's names from the 77th class, the Future Foundation's interference, and most of his actions as a brainwashed Remnant of Despair.

"I don't remember everything I did when I got 'despair'd'," he remarked. "Is that what you meant?" Fuyuhiko looked troubled at his answer.

"I'm the same way; I can only remember bits and pieces of what I did under Junko's control," he explained. "What I want to know is how much Hajime knows."

"Why's that?" Souda asked. "Wouldn't he only know his own past?"

"Remember what the Future Foundation said," Fuyuhiko chided. "Hajime was turned into Izuru sometime before The Tragedy, so I think he might know more on his end than any of us, including what we did when we were brainwashed."

Souda gave it a thought and found that his logic seemed sound.

"I'm not sure if I want to ask right now, though," he warned. "He's not..really doing alright."

Fuyuhiko clenched his fist and frowned.

"I know," he huffed. "I don't want to pressure him, but this is vital. We have to know what we did first before he can go about fixing our mistakes, right?"

Souda sighed and nodded his head.

"Thanks for understanding." Fuyuhiko lamented.

The two of them walked back to Sonia and Hajime, their heavy hearts dragging down with every step they took.

"Hajime, we need to talk," Fuyuhiko demanded. Hajime's eyes said more than he ever could - they were weary, but understanding. Wordlessly, he reached into Akane's pod and cradled her fragile form in his arms. Despite her form, Akane did her best to look lively and high-spirited.

"Don't go forgetting me now!" She croaked, doing her best to form a smile.

Souda found himself smiling at her unbreakable will.

"Alright, let's sit down," Hajime mumbled.

Kazuichi, Sonia, Fuyuhiko, and Hajime all gathered around Akane's pod, prepared to be informed.

"Where should I start?" Hajime asked. Seconds of silence followed suit, and Fuyuhiko adjusted his tie and traced his eyepatch.

"Hajime, do you remember your time as Izuru?" He asked carefully, trying to keep his tone low as to not aggravate or hurt him. Hajime's eyes met the floor.

"Of course I do," he noted. "I can remember every second. I couldn't forget what I did even if I wanted to." The guilt in his voice was strong enough to make Souda feel like he was being punched in the gut, but he stayed silent.

"Can you tell us what each of us did as Remnants of Despair?" Fuyuhiko requested.

A powerful sigh came from Hajime.

"Who wants to know first?"

No one spoke up. They all exchanged nervous and uncertain looks, waiting for the other to answer.

"Fine," Akane mumbled. "Let me know first." No one objected to her request.

"Well, from what I saw you were something of a warrior," he said. "Junko assigned you, along with people like Nekomaru and the Ultimate Imposter to spread chaos wherever she pleased." The room seemed to get infinitely colder as Hajime spoke. "She then decided to make you fast at her leisure. It would be days at a time you would go without food, just to punctuate Junko's sick desires." Hajime huffed and swallowed his breath.

"You..you helped take a lot of lives while under Junko's control."

"...Do you know how many?" She spoke softly. Hajime shook his head.

"If I had to guess, at least 50. I couldn't tell you the exact number. I'm sorry, Akane. I'm so sorry I let this happen to you."

Akane took in a breath of air and looked at Hajime with wavering eyes.

"Then...I have at least 50 lives to make up for." Weakly, she raised her hand in the air and touched Hajime's cheek softly, running her overgrown nails across his face.

"I can't just be a bag of bones forever, can I?" She chuckled softly. "We made a promise in the virtual world, and I intend to keep my end of the bargain." Hajime took Akane's hand in his own and clutched it tenderly. To the shock of the others, he pressed the fingers to his lips, giving her hand a dry, affectionate kiss.

Souda immediately became uncomfortable in his skin, covering his eyes with his toque. Judging by the look on his face, Souda discerned Fuyuhiko probably wished he had two eyepatches on. Even with her cheeks as hollow as they were, Akane's face still flushed.

"Thank you, Akane. Thank you."

Silence reclaimed the room once more. From the looks of it, no one wanted to talk about what just happened. Souda clacked his teeth together in his mouth and decided to bite the bullet.

"So, what was I up t-"

Souda was cut off by the abrupt sound of a heavy metal door slamming against a wall, snatching the attention of all five of the former Hope's Peak students. The sound of boots hitting metal approached as a thin young man in a sharp black suit dashed inside, looking frantic and panicked. The man's unruly brown hair with the protruding spike at the top and green eyes reminded Souda of Hajime - or what Hajime used to look like. He was able to recall that he was one of the three Future Foundation members that had broken the five of them out of the virtual world, but his name escaped Souda's mind.

Running a shaking hand through his coarse hair, the man spoke rapidly.

"Are you alright?!" He shouted. "Are the five of you okay?"

Fuyuhiko stood up defensively to face the man.

"You're Makoto Naegi of the Future Foundation, right?"

The man named Makoto nodded his head affirmatively.

"We all need to leave as soon as possible, we don't have much time." Makoto urged.

Carefully cradling Akane, Hajime stood up and walked towards Makoto, staring him down intensely.

"Do you have a ship here?" Hajime asked. Makoto looked caught-off guard but nodded his head as a confirmation.

"We'll be there shortly," Hajime responded. "Their friend here needs serious medical attention, please take care of her firstly." Makoto didn't look too comfortable holding Akane, but he heeded Hajime's demand and carried her out of the room.

Fuyuhiko's eyebrows arched in suspicion.

"How did you know Makoto would come in a ship?" He asked.

"We're on an island," Hajime responded bluntly. "It's like you said, I remember a lot from my time...as Izuru." What concerned Souda more was how Hajime referred to Akane as their friend, not our friend. He didn't want to cause more tension, but he couldn't stand to see him be so wracked with self-loathing that he didn't consider himself a friend of Akane's.

"You know, we're all still friends, right?" Souda reminded them. "We've all gotta get through this together." Sonia smiled and flexed her delicate bicep.

"Of course! Apart we are as weak as a lone bird, but together we rival the strength of a golden drongo!" Sonia cheered enthusiastically. Hajime didn't look like he understood the metaphor, but regardless he tried to grin and keep his chin up.

"So, can I ask what I got up to?" Said Fuyuhiko. Hajime brushed the hair out of his eyes.

"Junko put you in charge of commanding other Remnants, ordering mass killings on her behalf," explained Hajime. Fuyuhiko looked troubled, but not surprised.

"You took charge of Peko and Nekomaru to tear any resistance forces apart, as well as assimilating other gangs into forces used to spread despair." Fuyuhiko grit his teeth tightly, strong veins starting to form on his forehead.

"What happened to the Kuzuryu clan?" He asked, "What did I do to them?"

"You commanded them to commit mass suicide," Hajime revealed. "If they wouldn't tear their own stomachs open, Peko would slaughter them instead." Fuyuhiko bared his teeth and clutched his chest like his heart was in pain.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed, stomping his foot down on the ground in anger. "That fucking BITCH! Making me slaughter my own clan, my own blood!" He tore his tie off and threw it in rage, stomping it on the ground. Next was his eyepatch, which he tore off his head and tore in two, revealing a rotting, glassy eye that evidently wasn't his own in his socket - Junko's eye.

"Now I'm the last one left." He heaved. "The Kuzuryu ends with me." Souda didn't understand clan dynamics or mentality enough to fully sympathize with him, but the grief he expressed was enough to know. Souda never fully trusted or felt comfortable enough to say he loved his family unconditionally, but being responsible for ending their lives...Souda didn't want to consider it. He crossed his fingers and prayed he didn't do anything to them when he was brainwashed.

Fuyuhiko ran his fingers along his face, circling the rotting eye in his socket.

"This is Junko's eye, isn't it?" He asked. Hajime simply nodded his head. Hanging his head low, Fuyuhiko dusted himself off.

"I'm going to get this eye out of me, then I need to get back to rebuilding the Kuzuryu clan," he spoke. "But, I can't do it alone. I...can I count on you all to help me?" He asked with utmost sincerity.

"Of course!" Souda chimed. "You heard what M..Sonia said, didn't you?" He gave Fuyuhiko a playful punch on the shoulder, but afterward, he held his shoulder like Souda's little tap had actually hurt him.

"Right. Thanks, everyone," he said. "We're all going to get through this." Fuyuhiko stood up and started walking outside of the door Makoto opened.

"I'm going to get some fresh air for a bit, I'll be waiting for you guys." He waved behind him and disappeared into the darkness that obscured the door.

Souda knew that he was in charge of making smog machines that blocked the sky with hazy red clouds while he was a Remnant, but he hoped that by now they would be dismantled.

"May I go next?" Sonia asked, raising her hand in the air.

"Of course," Hajime told her. "Where do you want me to start?" Sonia brought her hand to her chin and started thinking.

"In truth, I can hardly remember what I did before I got to the virtual world," she revealed. "Can you start from the beginning?"

Nothing at all? Souda thought. How can she not remember her time as a remnant?

"Hey, do you mind if I answer that?"

Makoto walked back inside the room, looking determined and confident. Hajime shot him an uncertain look but said nothing to counter his request.

"I think I can give a more definitive answer if you'll let me."

"Sure, I do not mind," Sonia told him. Makoto nodded and began to explain.

"When the Remnants were first put under Junko's control, she sent you across the sea back to your home," he said.

"Novoselic?" She asked. "What business would I have there?" Makoto gulped and adjusted his cufflinks.

"Upon arriving, you assumed control over the entire kingdom in your parents' stead by... Well," Makoto shutters pointed at the worst-case scenario, and Sonia caught on.

"What did I do?" She asked in a quivering voice. "Are they okay?!" Makoto pressed his lips together and exhaled.

"I'm sorry, Sonia. They fell at your hands." Sonia put her hand to her mouth in shock.

"Preposterous! There is no way I was responsible for this!" She cried. "...Was I?" Makoto's eyes said more than he ever could; that glum, sorrowful expression told Sonia the truth.

"I can't believe I was..I, I just," Sonia stuttered. "What happened to the rest of my kingdom?!"

"After you assumed power, the people of Novoselic hailed you as the unrivaled queen of the country, and you commanded them to begin a bloody conquest across the world." "Bloody conquest? What do you mean?" She asked.

"Novoselic citizens were all filled with feverish loyalty to their kingdom, and laid down their lives to take as many lives as possible all across the planet." Makoto wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.

"In Japan alone, the Novoselic invaders took hundreds of lives." Sonia gasped and whimpered.

"Hundreds dead...because of me?"

"I don't know the exact numbers outside of Japan, but I can safely assume that the total death toll of these attacks hit 5 digits."

Ten-thousand people dead? Souda thought. Did Sonia really command so many people to get such a high death toll?

All of the 77th class students had matching expressions of shock. Souda and Hajime were utterly speechless, but Sonia managed to keep talking.

"I, I cannot believe that, I.." She couldn't finish her sentence before cascades of tears ran down her face.

"There is so much blood on my hands!" She wailed. "My people, the people around the world, even my own parents! I've ruined it all!" Sonia's sorrowful cries of anguish and guilt rivaled Hajime's, stomping Souda's weary heart.

"My duty in life, my reason for existing, I've soiled it all!" She cried through heaves and sniffles. "If I'm responsible for so much death, why did you save me?!" She shouted at Makoto. "Please, put me back! I..I do not deserve this second chance!"

Makoto regained his determination.

"If I wasn't completely convinced you could come back for the better, then I wouldn't have bothered risking myself and my friends to save you all," he said firmly. "The only reason your minds willingly connected to the technology was that you all subconsciously knew that hope can always prevail, no matter what. If you're capable of commanding people into despair, then you're capable of leading people into hope twice fold."

Sonia calmed down and tried to wipe her tears to no avail.

"What hope is left for the world? How are we supposed to fix this?" She sniffled.

"Doing the exact opposite of what we did for despair," spoke Souda. "I know that I had a hand in making a lot of machines that blacked out the skies and got people hurt, right?"

"Er, yeah," Makoto replied hastily.

"So what I've got to do is make machines that can fix all that damage and help people," Souda explained. "It's about undoing what you did and moving past it."

Sonia's tears had momentarily subsided as she listened to him.

"So if you were responsible for leading people into despair, then you've gotta lead them to hope as Makoto says. If you can't do it your own, then we'll help you do it."

Both Sonia and Hajime looked stunned at what Souda said, the attention made Souda anxious.

"What? Is that not the right thing to say?" He asked.

"No, it's just so..unexpected of you to say," replied Hajime. "You've really impressed me, Souda. I'm glad I have a friend as wise as you are."

Kazuichi was nearly tempted to pull his hat over his head to hide his watering eyes. The earnestness of Hajime's statement touched his heart in a way that could easily break him in two and make him tear up.

Sonia cleared her misty eyes and gave him a bright smile.

"You are correct, Kazuichi. I..It is foolish to lash out. I am sorry." She apologized, forming the strongest smile she could.

Souda chuckled nervously at the compliment. Makoto anxiously glanced behind him like he was expecting someone to come up behind him.

"Are we ready to go now?" He asked. "Time isn't on our side."

Hajime looked like he wanted to object and ask Souda if he wanted to know more about his Remnant past, but Souda predicted that and declined.

"That can wait, can't it?" Souda said. "Besides, I've got something more important to ask."

Souda turned towards Makoto. "Do you know if our friends will wake up?"

Silence claimed everyone's tongues. Makoto looked at Souda as if he had pulled a gun on him.

"We're still doing out best," he admitted. "Their signs are weak, but they're alive. The data I took from the Future Foundation doesn't really have a strong leaning either way."

The group was hit with an uneasy reminder - Makoto was turning his back on the Foundation to save them. Had he not stepped in and plugged everyone into the virtual world, they would've been disposed of just like any other Junko puppet, shot on sight and without a proper burial, remembered only for the cause they scorched the world for.

"Thank you for your kindness, Makoto." Sonia was the first to speak up, her voice still soft from exhaustion. Makoto smiled widely enough to make Souda arch an eyebrow in envy.

"Don't worry about it. Let's just get out of here for now."

The survivors turned back to face the pods containing their friends, hoping that they would eventually wake up and come to their senses. Kazuichi saw Hajime staring at Komeda's pod, but decided against commenting.

They made their way through a series of dark metal corridors until they reached a heavy iron door, which Makoto shoved open.

A ray of sunlight stung Kazuichi's eyes as he walked outside and got a breath of the fresh outside air. The sky was a marvelous pearly blue, a pleasant sight for the weary group.

"It is so beautiful!" Sonia noted, her eyes sparkling with the few remnants of tears still forming in her eyes.

"Hell yeah, it is!" Souda cheered, taking in another breath of air. The soft wind that swept through the island surface made Hajime's flowing hair flutter in the wind like a jolly rodger.

"Rarin' for a haircut, eh Hajime?" Souda poked teasingly. Hajime gave him a genuine smile and laughed.

"You bet." He laughed.

The bright sun, the blue sky, it was all an ordinary sight for what the world was like before The Tragedy, but to see it after was a queer sight. It seemed so mundane, but yet Souda felt inspired, inspired to fix his mistakes, and keep moving forward, towards a better, hopeful future.

"Might I ask where we're going, Makoto?" Sonia asked. Makoto turned around and gave them a dauntless smile, a smile that made the three of them feel safe and confident.

"Forward," he told them. "We're going forward."

"...Could you be a little more specific?" Hajime sighed.

"We're gonna do our best to be incognito overseas while I monitor your friends' brain activity," Makoto educated. "We're pretty close to Papua New Guinea, so we'll sail there for safety."

Sonia looked unsure.

"Are you certain that is the safest area we can travel to?" she questioned. "I have heard many rumors of ferocious avian creatures stalking the lands."

Everyone gave her their best poker face as they stared at her.

"Does she mean birds?" Said Makoto.

Hajime's straight face cracked and gave way to a chuckle, followed shortly by Souda's attempts to hide his snorting laughter. Makoto failed to suppress a smile forming on his lips, two prominent dimples appearing on both sides of his cheeks.

Sonia blushed when she registered that everyone was doing their best to not laugh at her.

"Wait, stop laughing! This is serious!" She tried to warn them.

"No, she's right," Souda said between chortles. "There probably are some kinda freaky things out there. I mean, I haven't been, so who knows?"

"Besides!" He bantered. "If anything's too scary for ya, well, I'm always here." He had only intended the comment to let her off the hook, but the smile on her face hinted she took his words in thoughtfully. His heart melted in his chest.

"Of course!" Sonia huffed. "I can always count on you!" She said teasingly, slugging his bicep with her fist.

Souda covered the growing flush on his face with his cap, causing Hajime to laugh even harder.

A worn-yellow dock led to a massive, pristine white boat, and a much smaller white boat designed to hold maybe a dozen people, both looking all ready to sail. Souda racked his brain to guess what type of boats they were, but couldn't nail anything down.

Towards the end of the dock, Fuyuhiko was talking to a woman dressed in all-black with a long lavender ponytail. The purple-haired woman frequently adjusted her hair tie with black studded gloves as she talked, staring down at the diminutive yakuza, who crossed his arms sternly.

The woman noticed the four of them walking towards the dock and turned her attention to Makoto, giving him a cold glare. Makoto adjusted his collar anxiously.

"Took you long enough," Fuyuhiko commented. "Akane's all hooked up inside the ship here. We're just waiting for you guys to get on."

"Awesome," Makoto replied. "Well, let's get-a-going." The purple-haired woman put her hand on his shoulder as Fuyuhiko and Sonia walked aboard the ship. "Are you sure this is the right idea?" She asked softly. "The entire foundation's going to be after you for this stunt you pulled." Makoto gave her a deadly serious look.

"Yeah, I know. I'll deal with the consequences on my own, just get back safe, alright?"

The woman pouted and leaned up in her heels to hug him with one arm.

"I hate when you try to play the hero," she said, trying to hide the giddiness in her tone with an impressive poker face.

"Don't worry about me, Kyoko. I'll be fine." Makoto gave a sweet pat on her shoulder and walked past her to join the others. She looked back at him, a tiny smile forming on her lips as she walked to the dock and towards the tiny boat. She gave Hajime and Kazuichi an uncertain look; one that communicated that she didn't fully trust them, but didn't look like she was judging them.

"Take your next couple steps carefully," she warned. "There's a lot of people who want you gotten rid of. Give them a reason not to." Souda's skin crawled as she opened the hatch of the tiny boat door and made her way inside.

Taking one last look at the island, Hajime and Souda looked at the dark hallway that led into the complex. Souda hoped with all his heart that everyone would wake up safe and sound, despite what Junko did to them.

He wanted to tell Nekomaru about the robot he had made Akane after the 4th trial, he wanted to hear Ibuki's music and positive attitude wanted to talk to Mikan and give her something to do with binding all of his scars. He found himself missing Hiyoko's sneering face, Teruteru's ravenous charm, and even Gundham's boisterousness. He wanted to take the time to establish a proper friendship with Peko, Mahiru, the Ultimate Imposter, everyone. He was still on the fence about Komaeda, but everyone deserves a second chance, right?

Each member that sat inside sleeping was a hole in his heart he wanted to fill, something that only hope could do.

The hope to move forward. He told himself. The hope to move forward.


End file.
